The winning bidder for San Diego's nine-year-old Modern Times Beer was Anaheim's Brewery X after an auction.
Less than two months after announcing that half of its outlets will close, Modern Times Beer, based in San Diego, said that the company's lender had filed a lawsuit, which would unavoidably result in a court-ordered sale of the artisan brewery. Brewery X, a 3-year-old company based in Anaheim, won the auction of qualifying bidders on June 17 by placing the highest price of $20 million, more than double Maui Brewing's $7.62 million offer. Instead of being liquidated to repay its debts, Modern Times will be acquired as a "going concern".
Since founder Jacob McKean founded the business in 2013 in San Diego's Point Loma, the Modern Times Beer staff has remained on an aggressive expansion path. In addition to being the first employee-owned brewery in California, the craft brewery significantly expanded during its nine-year run, opening the Flavordome tasting room in North Park, The Dankness Dojo restaurant and tasting room in downtown Los Angeles, The Far West Lounge tasting room and restaurant in Encinitas, The Belmont Fermentorium full-scale brewery in Portland, Oregon, and the Invigatorium coffee shop in San Diego's East Village, and the Anaheim, California, 33,000 square foot Leisuretown project. All of this is in addition to running the business's original Point Loma brewery and coffee shop, which was expanding into nearby buildings to include a restaurant before COVID-19 caught the globe by storm.
Jacob McKean, the founder of San Diego's Modern Times Beer, apologized publicly and announced his resignation as CEO in the spring of 2021 as a result of ongoing revelations about allegations of harassment and discrimination against people working in the craft beer industry, many of which directly implicated Modern Times. The following January 2022, Jennifer Briggs, a former employee of New Belgium Brewing, was introduced as Modern Times' new CEO. Briggs had been attempting to sell the business in order to pay off debts, but the sale was now in the hands of the court-appointed receivership rather than the company or its management.
Brewery X prevailed over the TRU Colors beer firm from North Carolina in the auction after competitive bidding. The auction results still need to be verified at a court hearing on Monday, June 20, and once they are, there will still be some time before the transaction really closes.
Modern Times Beer CEO Jennifer Briggs said, "The final proposal was great and it is a credit to the work of the Modern Times Beer people and the work they have done over the last months in a highly constricted organization." "And, of course, the work they did over the years to develop the Modern Times Beer brand. To ensure a smooth transition, I am looking forward to working with the company that was confirmed on Monday. I am aware that our supporters and distribution partners are eager for specific updates, but we will respect the procedure and hold off on providing them until the next week. It has been quite the experience to work through since late last year, regardless of any specific companies. And I've had the privilege of getting to know so many fascinating folks who are passionate about the craft of making beer and coffee. The community of craft brewers is great. I am appreciative of the qualified advisors that guided us through this procedure.
Brewery X was established in 2019 and was inspired by a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation program project at the University of Southern California. Sisters Paige and Carley Pennington, Clayton Wellbank, and Chris Pennington, who also owns Rancho Cucamonga's Penwal Industries, are the owners of the business.
